Replacing Appliances is NOT Frugal!

Posted by Mrs Money on November 19th, 2008

Thanks for visiting Ultimate Money Blog! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.

I think my dishwasher has bit the dust. This morning when Mr. Money woke up it was washing dishes. I had turned it on last night at 7 P.M. There is no reason it should have still been going at 6 A.M. When he opened it to turn it off, he saw the casualty. My beautiful stainless steel blender’s plastic bottom had warped beyond repair.

When he came into the bedroom to inform me, I almost cried. I use this blender pretty much every day to make smoothies. I was really looking forward to my breakfast this morning too! Luckily he went onto the blender manufacturer’s website and ordered replacement parts, and I think the total with shipping was under $20. I am still peeved, for two reasons.

One, I am now not going to be able to use my blender. I can’t make smoothies and eat them for breakfast like I normally do. I’ll have to get up earlier and make oatmeal or something else. It also cost me $20! That is not a nice surprise.

Two, now I am probably going to have to buy a new dishwasher. I’m debating on whether or not I actually want to do this. You see, I am totally fine with washing dishes by hand (I hate drying and putting away though!) so the fact we’d be without a dishwasher doesn’t really pain me that badly. Also, I think it’s better for the environment if we use the dishwasher less. Less water and energy used! Obviously it used a lot of water and energy last night.

I’m thinking I’m going to wait a little while and see if we can’t live without it. If we really feel that we need to replace it, I’ll look for a good deal on craigslist. We also have a Home Depot credit card that would have no interest for 6 months I believe, and we could do that as well. This is my least favorite option, but if it came down to it we could swing it.

Could you live without your dishwasher? Is there another option I’m forgetting?

6 Responses to “Replacing Appliances is NOT Frugal!”

“black friday” is coming up, perhaps you could find a deal then?
i hate drying dishes as well. back when i was in Girl Guides, we would use plastic plates, cups and bowls, and after washing them, throw them in a mesh bag and hang them from the clothes line. you might not be able to manage that with your usual dishes, but air drying is often an option…

If you have someone to dry and put away while you wash it’s not so bad. But doing it all yourself every single day is a pain. And I heard that you actually use more water… I don’t know if that is true or not.

I didn’t have a dishwasher until I was about 23. And it was my chore growing up to wash all the dishes myself, by hand. So I never want to go back to that again. I love having a dishwasher. All those years of handwashing has made me appreciate it greatly.

I can’t stand hand washing dishes! Also, the new models are very energy and water efficient, I believe they use less water than washing by hand. Mine uses 3 gallons per load if I remember correctly. My dishwasher was a present to myself, for me it was worth every penny. I don’t have a lot of time to do dishes and since I hate handwashing, it’s probably my favorite appliance.

I don’t think I could ever live in a place without a dishwasher again. I’m fine without a clothes washer/dryer, but I CANNOT STAND handwashing a bunch of dishes!

Maybe you can start a “dishwasher savings” fund and get one in a few months. If you aren’t a renter, you’ll need to replace it by the time you move anyway, so you might as well have one when you can use it yourself instead of the next occupants.

Yakezie!

Ultimate Money Blog has several affiliate relationships with different companies. We often review products and services based on our personal opinions as an affiliate. We receive no compensation for positive reviews. Please visit sites via links to guarantee accuracy of rates and information, as this may change daily. Ultimate Money Blog may receive compensation through advertising and marketing channels. For more information on site policies, please check our Privacy Policy |
image